Information-Centric Semantic Web of Things

In the Semantic Web of Things (SWoT) paradigm, a plethora of micro-devices permeates an environment. Storage and information processing are decentralized: each component conveys and even processes a (very) small amount of annotated metadata. In this perspective, the node-centric Internet networking model is inadequate. This paper presents a framework for resource discovery in semantic-enhanced pervasive environments leveraging an information-centric networking approach. Information gathered through different Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can be exploited by both ubiquitous and Web-based semantic-aware applications through a uniform set of operations. Experimental results and a case study support sustainability and effectiveness of the proposal

Semantic Blockchain to Improve Scalability in the Internet of Things

Generally scarce computational and memory resource availability is a well known problem for the IoT, whose intrinsic volatility makes complex applications unfeasible. Noteworthy efforts in overcoming unpredictability (particularly in case of large dimensions) are the ones integrating Knowledge Representation technologies to build the so-called Semantic Web of Things (SWoT). In spite of allowed advanced discovery features, transactions in the SWoT still suffer from not viable trust management strategies. Given its intrinsic characteristics, blockchain technology appears as interesting from this perspective: a semantic resource/service discovery layer built upon a basic blockchain infrastructure gains a consensus validation. This paper proposes a novel Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) based on a semantic blockchain for registration, discovery, selection and payment. Such operations are implemented as smart contracts, allowing distributed execution and trust. Reported experiments early assess the sustainability of the proposal

Linking the Web of Things: LDP-CoAP Mapping

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Garden in motion. An experience of citizens involvement in public space regeneration

The paper illustrates a Placemaking process developed in Potenza Municipality (Southern Italy), based on an interpretation of the theories by the French landscape architect Gilles Clément. A laboratory has been organized in a residual area of the city, famous for an architectural monument, the bridge designed by Sergio Musmeci. The Internet allows a continuous online storytelling of work, creating citizens engagement on projects or choices and producing creativity and knowledge circulation. In this perspective "Garden in Motion" initiative produced new important processes for the community life, just like in Gilles Clément's "Garden in motion", where the processes of nature are favoured and spontaneous plants put in condition to grow and move freely

A Mobile and Web Platform for Crowdsourcing OBD-II Vehicle Data

On-Board Diagnostics 2 (OBD-II) protocol allows monitoring vehicle status parameters. Analyzing them is highly useful for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) research, applications and services. Unfortunately, large-scale OBD datasets are not publicly available due to the effort of producing them as well as due to competitiveness in the automotive sector. This paper proposes a framework to enable a worldwide crowdsourcing approach to the generation of OBD-II data, similarly to OpenStreetMap (OSM) for cartography. The proposal comprises: (i) an extension of the GPX data format for route logging, augmented with OBD-II parameters; (ii) a fork of an open source Android OBD-II data logger to store and upload route traces, and (iii) a Web platform extending the OSM codebase to support storage, search and editing of traces with embedded OBD data. A full platform prototype has been developed and early scalability tests have been carried out in various workloads to assess the sustainability of the proposal

Linked Data (in Low-Resource) Platforms: A Mapping for Constrained Application Protocol

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Role of interferon lambda 4 and ALT levels in optimising treatment of HCV for patients with low-stage fibrosis

The use of new anti-HCV drugs is currently limited by high costs and dual therapy; pegylated interferon and ribavirin (peg-IFN+RBV) still represents the only affordable treatment in patients with low-stage fibrosis. We evaluated the role of Interferon lambda4 (IFNL4) polymorphisms and its combination with on-treatment alanine transaminase (ALT) modification in predicting sustained virological response (SVR) in HCV genotype 1 and 4 patients with low-stage fibrosis. We retrospectively analysed 124 patients with Metavir ≤F2, who received dual therapy at our centre. Genotyping for IFNL4 polymorphisms was assessed at baseline, as well as ALT levels (baseline and week 2, 4, 12 and 24 of therapy). Thirty patients (24%) were TT/TT, 74 (60%) TT/DG and 20 (16%) DG/DG. The SVR rate was significantly higher in TT/TT genotype compare to TT/DG and DG/DG (97% vs. 53% and 50%, respectively, p=0.001). Patients that achieved a 60% reduction of ALT baseline value after 4 weeks of therapy had a significantly higher SVR rate (94% vs. 52%, p<0.001). Factors significantly associated with SVR were TT/TT genotype (p=0.029), RVR (p=0.019) and 60% ALT reduction at 4 week of therapy (p=0.005). The absence of both TT/TT genotype and 60% ALT reduction were negative predictors of SVR (p<0.001). In conclusion, the combined use of IFNL4 polymorphisms and ALT reduction at 4 week of treatment is able to optimize candidates’ selection for peg-IFN+RBV, discriminating those that could still benefit from dual therapy from the ones that need the new regimen

Exploring the Role of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors and Their HLA Class I Ligands in Autoimmune Hepatitis

Background Natural killer cells are involved in the complex mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases but few studies have investigated their role in autoimmune hepatitis. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors are key regulators of natural killer cell-mediated immune responses. Methods and Findings KIR gene frequencies, KIR haplotypes, KIR ligands and combinations of KIRs and their HLA Class I ligands were investigated in 114 patients diagnosed with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis and compared with a group of 221 healthy controls. HLA Class I and Class II antigen frequencies were compared to those of 551 healthy unrelated families representative of the Sardinian population. In our cohort, type 1 autoimmune hepatitis was strongly associated with the HLA-B18, Cw5, DR3 haplotype. The KIR2DS1 activating KIR gene and the high affinity HLA-C2 ligands were significantly higher in patients compared to controls. Patients also had a reduced frequency of HLA-Bw4 ligands for KIR3DL1 and HLA-C1 ligands for KIR2DL3. Age at onset was significantly associated with the KIR2DS1 activating gene but not with HLA-C1 or HLA-C2 ligand groups. Conclusions The activating KIR gene KIR2DS1 resulted to have an important predictive potential for early onset of type 1 autoimmune hepatitis. Additionally, the low frequency of the KIR-ligand combinations KIR3DL1/HLA-Bw4 and KIR2DL3/HLA-C1 coupled to the high frequency of the HLA-C2 high affinity ligands for KIR2DS1 could contribute to unwanted NK cell autoreactivity in AIH-1

Elementi innovativi della norma ISO 9001 edizione 2015: l'analisi del contesto ed il risk based thinking

Questo lavoro di tesi nasce dall'interesse maturato per le tematiche affrontate durante la preparazione dell'esame di Organizzazione Aziendale, in particolar modo in merito alla parte riguardante il concetto di qualità. Approfondendo questo tema mi sono imbattuto in diversi articoli che ponevano enfasi sulle "rivoluzionarie" novità introdotte dalla nuova edizione del 2015 della norma ISO 9001. Considerate l'attualità e l'importanza riscontrate in tale argomento, ho deciso di farne oggetto del mio lavoro di tesi che si presenta così strutturato: - nel primo capitolo è stato introdotto il concetto di qualità, descrivendone l'evoluzione dal primo modello artigianale alla nascita del "Total Quality Management". Si è poi offerta una panoramica sulla c.d. "famiglia delle ISO 9000" e sugli attori coinvolti nei processi di normazione, accreditamento e certificazione; - nel secondo capitolo si è cercato di spiegare scrupolosamente il contenuto di ogni singolo paragrafo della norma ISO 9001:2015; - il terzo capitolo ha avuto come oggetto le tematiche collegate alle principali novità introdotte dalla norma: l'analisi del contesto ed il risk based thinking. Si è dunque parlato di ambiente organizzativo, incertezza e soluzioni messe in atto dalle aziende per limitarla, del concetto di risk management; - nel quarto ed ultimo capitolo è stato spiegato cosa un'azienda deve fare concretamente per soddisfare i requisiti del capitolo 4 della norma, inerenti appunto al contesto dell'organizzazione. A titolo esemplificativo è stato riportato il lavoro di analisi del contesto e dei rischi portato a compimento da un'azienda del Sud Italia che ha potuto così ottenere la certificazione ISO 9001:2015; - nelle conclusioni, infine, si è cercato di estrapolare quelli che sono i benefici, ma anche i possibili punti di debolezza, connessi alla certificazione del proprio sistema di gestione della qualità aziendale